Block-signal control safety appliance for locomotives.



G. W. GERLACH.

K sfGNAL coNRoL SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR LocoMoHvEs.

BLOC

APPLECATION FILED MAYG. |9I3.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

G. W. GERLACH.

BLOCK SIGNAL CONTROL SAFETY APPLIANCE FUR LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLlcAHoN man MAY 5. 1913.

1,135,574.. Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

2 SHELTSWSHLLT 2 UNITED STATES GEORGE W. GERLACH, OF CUIVIERLAND, IOWA.

BLOCK-SIGNAL CONTRGL SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

Application tiled May 6y 1913. Serial No. 765,860.

To all ywhom vit m c3] concern Be it known that' I, Grouse W'. Gnnracn, citizen of the United States, residing at Cumberland, in the county of ("ass and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Block-Signal Control Safety Appliances for Locomotives, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to new and useful improvements in safety appliances for railways and more particularly to an appliance or device which, when installed, will make up part of the equipment of a locomotive andv which will operate, in conjunction with contact shoes positioned along the track, to automatically stop any trains so equipped in case ol.'v danger and the olo ject of my invention is to provide an appliance which, in conjunction with a block signal system, will automaticall)v apply the air-brakes of the train in case ot danger.

In my copendingr application tiled May G, 1915"), andbeariug the Serial Nc. 7135.859 I have fully described and claimed a parl ieular type of block signal system and the hereinafter described safety appliance is particularly adapted for use over roads em ploying this block signal system although its range of usefulness is in no way limited to such roads. In the above noted application I disclosed a special type of contact carrying member which, under all conditions Which might prove dangerous to traffic, will be moved to active position and one of the objects of my present invention is to provide, in connection with normally open circuits controlling the engineeris 'valve of the locomotive, circuit closers in the for-nr of flexible brushes or shoes for engagement with the contacts carried by said devices when the latter are moved to active position.

A further object of my invention is to provide an electric current generator for generating thecurrent necessary to operate the controlling mechanism of the engineers valve when the circuits of said mechanism areclosed by the engagement of the brushes with the contacts carried by the contact memberspositioned along the track. And a still-further object of my invention is toI provide means for driving the generator,

"so constructed and arranged that the throttlc valve of the engine can not be opened without setting the generator in motion, althogghwhenfthe generator is once 'started the mere closing of the enrottle valve will not be suflicient to stop the same.

With these and other` objects in view, my invention will be more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and then specifically pointed out in the claims which are attached to and form a part of this application.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a conventional forni of locomotive equipped with my safety appliance, showing the same engaging the contacts of a contact carrying `member such as is el'nployed in connection with my block signal system, as set forth in my previously referred to application; Fig. is a sectional view through the contact carrying member and brush carrying housing of the locomotive, slimving the brushes of the locomotive in engagement with the contacts of the sig nal system. the latter being shown in active position; Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on the line f-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. #L is a side elevation of a conventional form of enginecr`s valve, showing the manner in which I employ a motor for automatically moving the valve to service position upon closing of the circuits of theJ safetyappliance; Fig. 5 is a section on the line :3--5 of Fig. it, looking downwardly toward the valve to more clearly show the manner in which the motorY operates the valve.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

In order to ins'ure a. clear and complete understanding of my safety appliance and its manner of operation I have illustrated the same in connection with a conventional form of locomotive 10 having a throttle valvc11 operatively connected by a link 12 to the usual form of throttle valve level' 13. .The locomotive and train are equipped throughout with air brakes of the usual or any preferred type controlled by the ngineers valve shown conventionally at 14. As all these parts may be of the usual or any desired type any detailed description of the same is unnecessary.

In installingl my appliance a pipe 15- is led from the steam dome 16 of the locomo- :tive boiler to the inlet port of a steam turbine..17 having a revolving rotor' keyed or otherwise secured upon a shaft 18. This soA shaft is either operatively connected with or forms a continuation of the shaft 19 of an electric generator 2D of conventional type. It will therefore be apparent that as long as steam passes through the pipe 13 to the turbine the driving of the turbine will dri the generator and thus afford an ample :ply of current for energizing the various circuits of my safetyV appliance. 'The turbine and generator may be located at any convenient point upon the locomotive either within or without the cab thereof but a portion of the pipe 15 will in any case pi'efeiablv run through the cab and be provided with a valve 21 of the turn plug type controlling the admission of steam through tbe turbine. The stem 22 of this valve carries a crank arrn23 and a link 2l is pivotally connected at one end to the free end of this crank arm and slotted at its other end shown at 25 for sliding engagement with a pin 26 carried by the intermediate portion of the throttle lever 13. The free end of the link 24 is rounded or otherwise shaped to form a handle 27 by which said lever may be manually operated to open or close the valve 21.

Both the throttle valve and valve 21 are arranged to be opened by rearward movenient, oi their levers 13 and 24, respectively, and the slot and pin connection between` the said levers is so arranged that when both valves are closed any swinging of the throttle lever 13 will cause a corresponding swinging ci the valve` link 24.' For this reason it is impossible to open the throttle valve Without lopening 'the valve 21. At the same/time, because ot' the provision of the slot 25, the throttle valve lever 13 may at any time be swung forwardly to close the throttle valve without in any way affecting the valve link 24.. It will therefore be apparent that the throttle valve cannot be opened without openi ng the valve 21 controlling the passage of steam to the turbine and that at the saine time the closing of the throttle valve does not elipse the valve 21. However, if the throttle valve is closed, the valve link 24 may he. manually moved forwardly to close valve 2l, i

This construction and arrangeim at of parts' is of great importance as it insures a continuous operation of the turbine and consequently7 of theI generator unless the steain valve 21 is intentionally closed and this valveY even, cannot be intentionally closed, as long Because of this, the turbine and generator will both operate, under ordinary conditions, when a train is passing down grade with its throttlevalve closed, the intention being that the turbine shall be driven at all times when the locomotive is on a run and not stop at each station or at each place where the throttle valve is closed, This generator furnishes the necessary current to, under proper conditions, operate a motor 28 which, when energized, will move the valve handle of the engineers valve to service position. In Figs. 4 and 5 I have illustrated the manner in which the motor 28 is operatively connected to the engineers valve 14. As there shown, the motor is supported above the engineers valve by a bracket 29 in such a manner that the motor shaft 30 is in alinement with the valve stem 31 which carries the valve handle 32. As is usual in engineer valve construc-l tion the swinging of this valve handle is limited by stops 33 and 3l carried by the top of the valve casing and the service application of the valve takes place when the valve handle is swung to a position intermediate between these stops. In order to provide operative connection between the motor and valve handle I provide the motor shaft 30 with a disk IE5 having a concentrically formed slot 36 through which is passed a pin 37 carried by the valve handle 32. The disk is also provided with a radially extending lug 38 adapted in one position to engage' 33 and limit further rotaagainst the sto.

k under the influence of the tion of the dis motor.

It will of course be clear, inasmuch as under normal conditions the motor 28 is deenergized, that the connection between the motor-and valve handle will in no way l interfere with the manual actuation :of said valve handle to permit any desired application ofthe valve as the motor shalt will turn freely when the motor is denergized. As soon however, as the motor is energized, the disk 35 Will rotate, from whatever position it happens to occupy, in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 5, until the pin 37 seats in the rear: end of the slot 26 when further rotation of the disk will turn the valve handle 32, this movement being continued until the stop 38 of the disk engages the stop 33 of the valve casing. This stop 38 is soairanged X that this will occur when the valve handle has been moved to service position. The slot 36 is so formed that when the valve handle has been moved to service position'by rotation of the disk 35,the valve handle may be manually moved ahead to emergency position, if necessary, the pin 37 moving freely from the rear tothe forward end of th slot, for this purpose.

`The above constitutes the chief or primary part of-my present invention, the remainder consisting in the provision of the necessary circuits etween the generator and motor and circuit closers included in said circuits iii/the form ofjcontact brushes or 'shoes adapted to be engaged by the contacts of a block signal system wheinthe said latter contacts are moved to active position. It

will of course be apparent that the construc' iso mounting the same, will vary considerably according to the type of block signal system installed in the road over which the locomotive equipped With my safety appliance is to operate. For this reason, I have illustrated, in Figs. l, 2 and 3 of the drawings, a particular type of circuit closer or contact shoe and manner of mounting the same which is especially adapted for operation in conjunction with a specific form of contact carrying member employed in the block nal system invented by me and fully disclosed in a copending application. The con tact carrying member of said block signal system is also shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in connection with the circuit closers of my safety appliance and to insure a clear understanding of the operation of the latter I will first explain in a general Way, the construction of the contact carrying member of the block signal system.

As fully explained in my copending application, several times referred to, my block signal system includes a track divided into a plurality of blocks, the rails of each block forming portions of a track circuit and each track clrcuit controlling a circuit closer ineluded in a signal circuit. T he signal circuits overlap each other and are each provided with a pair of contact carrying membersor devices,'one of which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, these contact carrying devices being located adjacent the track at the juncture of one block with the next. Each of these contact carrying devices includes a base or platform 39 which is mounted upon the extended ends of ties 4() which carry the rails 41 of the track. This base supports an electric motor 42 which is included 'n the signal circuit above referred to and ioz-ms an actuating means for moving the contact members ofthe device in and out of ietive position. The shaft of this motor is operatively connected with a shaft 43 journaied in spaced brackets 44 which also form bearings for a. second shaft 45 disposed in parallel spaced relation to the first. These shafts carry the contact members 46 and 47, respectively.

The Contact member 4G includes spaced heads 48 and 49 secured against rotation upon the haft 43 adjacent the brackets` a cylindrica Contact member 50 extending in parallel spaced relation to the shaft and connected at its ends to the heads and a counter-Weight 51 also extending in parallel spaced relation to the shaft and diametrically opposite the contact 50, this counterweight also being 'secured by its ends 'to the heads. In like manner, the contact" member 47 includes heads 52 and 53 carrying a contact member 54 and counterweight 55, these parts being identical in construction to the corresponding parts of the contact member above described. The heads are connected by links in such a manner that any rotation of the shaft 43 will cause a corresponding rotation of the shaft 45. The motor is so arranged that when energized it will turn the shaft 43 and consequently the shaft 45 to hold the contact members with their counterweights uppermost, the swinging of said contact members, under the infiuence of the motor, being limited by the engagement of the contact 50 with a stop pin 56. As soon, however, as the motor 42 is denergized the counterweights immediately swing the contact members to the position shown in Fig. 2 in which position they are blocked against further swinging by stops 57 carried by the brackets 44. All of the above described mechanism is preferably inclosed in a suitable casing or housing 58, that side of the housing against the tracks being opened for a reason which will be hereinafter apparent. The base 39 is provided at its forward edge adjacent each end with an upwardly directed standard 59 and these standards are connected immediately above and below the positions occupied by the upper andY lower contacts, respectively, when swung to active position by outwardly bowed plates 60 and (il, the central portions of which eXtcnd parallel to the contacts, while the end portions are inclined inwardly to the standards to which they are firmly secured. The purpose of these arcuate or bowed plates will be later fully explained.

The circuit closers or brushes carried by the locomotive may be supported from any suitable part thereof, preferably from the bumper' timber (32, one method being that shown in Fig. of the drawings including a hanger (B3 extending downwardly from one cnd of the timber and provided with spaced bearings (34 and G5 lined with vulcanized rubber, fiber or other suitable insulating material G6 through which are passed the inner ends of pipes G7 and G8, said pipe ends being provided with binding posts (if) and 70, respectively. The pipes terminate at their outer ends in heads 7l carrying blocks of insulating material 72 which in turn carries spring vbrushes or shoes 73. Secured about the outer'end of each of the pipes66 and (i8 and surrounding, in spaced relation, the heads, insulating blocks and inner portion of the brushes, are cup-shaped metallic housings 74 so arranged that when the brushes 73 engage the contacts 50 and 574 of the contact carrying devices, they will be bent or sprung into engagement with the. free edges of their respective housings 74, immediately springing out of such engagement when ythe brushes are disengaged from the contacts. The pipes 67 are secured against all sliding and turning movement tact carrying devices are swung to active position, the brushes upon any locomotive will engage the said contacts. One pair of these brushes is extended from each side of the locomotive in order that at least one pair will be engaged by any` contact members held in active position, irrespective of which side of the track the contact members are mounted upon or of which direction the locomotive is travelingga'long the track.

In order to protect the brushes from moisture, dirt, sleet or snow, I provide for each pair of brushesv a housing 75, preerably formed of sheet metal and,closed upon all sides, the outer faces of said housing being rentrantly formed to provide poc ets 76 in which the brushes normally seat, the rear Walhand the rear walls of these pockets are apertured for the passage of the brush carrying pipes 67 and 68' and the openings thus formed are lined with sleeves 77 and 78 of insulating material through which the pipes are slidable. The sleeves 77--78 are provided at their rear ends with radially directed flanges 79 and helical springs 80 are positioned one about each of the pipes 67 and 68 bearing between these flanges and collars 81 secured tothe pipes by set screws 82, the function of these springs being to normally hold the housing in outward positionto seat the 'brushes in the pockets thereof.

When a train approaches one of the contact carrying devices the forward portion ofthe brush 'housing upon that side of the track adjacent the contact carrying device is engaged by the inclined forward ends of the plates and 61 of said device and forced inwardly along the brush carrying pipes to expose the brushes which, as previously explained, extend in the path of the contacts if they be-in active position. As soon as the engine has`passed, the springs immediately force the housing outwardly again to protect the brushes. Itshould be noted at this point th'at the brushes are completely insulated from the pipes supporting the same and that the brush housing 74 and pipes 67 and 68 are completely insulated from the main housing 75 and hangers 64.

Having thus described the mechanical construction and operation of all parts of my safety appliance I will now explain the wiring of the circuits by means of which the motor controlling the engineers valve is operated by the engagement of the brushes with the contacts of the contact carrying devices of the block signal system. g

A conductor wire 83 leads from the gen- I erator to the forward portion of the locomo-V tive and is electrically connected by a Wire 84 with the binding posts 70 of each ofthe Y ipes 68 and consequently with each,y ftho housing cups 74 of the lower *73;

A cond A wire 85v has its ends, which are insulated, ssed through the ipes 68 of thel brush holders and electrical y connected to the lowerrbrushes 73, being secured in place by set screws 85. A conductor wire each pair of the brushes form parts of a ciry cuit through the dynamo and motor, the circuit being normally open between the upper brush and housing of each pair and also between the lower brush and housing of each pair. p

In operation, assuming that the train is moving along the track, with the valve 21, controlling the passage of steam to the turbine, open and with the turbine and dynamo both in motion, ifthe locomotive passes a contact carrying device in which the contacts are in active position its brushes engaging against the contacts will be momentarily sprung against the sides of their respective housings a'nd the following circuit closed: Current passing from the generator or dynamo through the wire 83 and wire 84 to the housing of the lower brush, from said housing through the engagin brush, from said brush to the wire 8 through said wire and the wirey 86 to the motor, through the motor, wire 87 and wire 88 to the upper brush from the upper brush to the housing 74 thereof and alon the pipe 67 tothe wire 89 and so throug the wire 90 back to the dynamo. It will therefore be apparent that the circuit thus'momentarily closed through the dynamo'and motor will start the motor and cause the same to move the engineers valve to service position and so apply the air brakes. The contacts 50 and 54 should of course be of sufiicient length to insure a long enough closingl of the circuit to cause a suliicient length of operation of the motor, a short vtime however, is suflicient for this.

It will of corse be understood that the wiring illustrated in Fig. 1 wholly diagrammatic and that in practice all of these wires will be heavily insulated and prefer ably inclosed in conduits. It will further beunderstood that the current generated oy the dynamo may be utilized for other un poses beside that of vactuating the motog as it. may be employed for service current for other signaling devices about a train;- for lighting or other purposes. if desired.

The abofe described mechanism is noti-t all com licated andfmay be readily installed at smal cost andwhen employed inconnection with a suitable block 'signal system should afford absolute protection to'trains luider all circumstances. It will of course be understood." that I do not Wishin any way to limit myself to the specic details o f construction, or arrangef ment ofv pants, illustrated and described in thisV application, as various minor changes wit-hinthe scope of the aplpended claims, may bemade at any time, if esired, without in the slightest degree departing from the spirit of In invention. Having t us described the invention, is claimed as newis:

1. 'In'anappliance of the character described, the combination with an engineers valve, of a normallygopen circuit, means in the circuit adapted when the latter is lclosed to operate the engineers valve, and circuit closer-s in the circuit' adapted forfengagement with track contacts when the said contacts are moved to active position, said circuit closers eafh including a'housing lectrically conne ted in the circuit and a brush mounted within the. housing,

what

housing and insulated therefrom but adapt ed upon engagement with track contacts to move into contact with the brush housing, means for normally holding the housing mounted upon the conduits in extended position to seat the brush housings and brushes ifi their pockets, a circuit including both brush housings and 'both brushes., and means operable by the closinggof the circuit for op-` erating the engineers valve. Y

' 3. In an appliance of the character described, the combination with an engine having an engineers valve, of a hanger'carried by the engine, conduits carried Yby the hanger and extending laterally from the engine, a housing slidable upon the conduits and hav- 'ing its outer wall formed withpockets' through which the conduits extend, a brush housing mounted upon the free end of each conduit, a brush mounted in each brush housing andinsulated therefrom but adapted electrically connected inthe circuit-and adapted 'upon engagement with valve, of a hanger carried conduits and engaging between the collars and the inner face of the outer wall of the housing, a circuit including both brush housings and both brushes, and means operable by the closing of the circuit for operating -the engineers valve.

4. In an appliance of the character de-` scribed, the combination with swingingly mounted track contacts and arcuate plates positioned vadjacent the contacts.l of a locomotive having an engineers valve. circuit closers carried by the locomotive and adapted for engagement with the contacts, a housing normally inclosing the circuit closers and adapted for engagement vwith the plates for movement away from the circuit closers, a circuit through said circuit closers and means operable by the closing of said circuit closers by engagement .with the contacta for operating the engineers valve.

5. In an appliance of the character described, the combination with an'engineers vaive, of a normally open circuit, means in the'circuit adapted, when the latter is closed,

to operate the engineers valve, a fixed con-V tact in the circuit, a movable contact in the 4circuit adapted for engagement with the contact, anda housing normally surrounding the contacts and movable to expose the same.

6. In an appliance of the character described, the combination with an engineers valve, of conduits adapted for support upon fixed contact by engagement with a' track an engine. a housing sldable upon the con-.'-

duitsl and formed with pockets through which the conduits extend. a brush housing mounted upon the free end of each conduit, a brush mounted in each brush housing and insulated therefrom, the brushes being mov able into engagement with their housings upon engagement with track contacts. means including a circuit through the brushes and housings for controllinar the engineers valve, and means `for normally holding the housing mounted upon the conduits in position the brush housings in their pockets. l

to seat In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. GERLACH. Witnesses:

Gao. Horxms, G. M. BoommN. 

